{
  "id": 5099778,
  "title": "New CEO’s first call at Godrej: Execution, execution",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/new-ceos-first-call-at-godrej-execution-execution",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-02T13:33:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Economic Times",
    "slug": "the-economic-times",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/fmcg/godrej-consumers-new-ceo-malbari-lays-out-an-execution-overhaul-in-first-investor-call/articleshow/133711870.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mumbai: Godrej Consumer Products' new chief executive, Aasif Malbari, addressed execution challenges in his first investor call, lamenting weak core-category growth and falling profitability. This assessment came just three weeks after Sudhir Sitapati's sudden resignation as managing director and CEO. Malbari, who replaced Sitapati immediately, acknowledged that the company's core category revenue growth has been stagnant, and its profits have been under pressure. He also pointed out declining average profitability in India and Indonesia, while Latin America and other international sectors remain low-profitability operations.\n\nMalbari cited his own performance metrics, stating that the company has achieved an organic UVG of 4% in India and a consolidated 7%, with EBITDA at 6%. However, he admitted that these figures fall short of Godrej's expectations. The company plans to spend around Rs 150 crore on a new research and development center, as well as increase international go-to-market spending and digital marketing, which are expected to add about Rs 200 crore a year to operating costs once fully implemented. These investments, however, require 2-3 years to show full returns.\n\nMalbari also revealed that distributor inventory in India is too high, and the company anticipates collecting Rs 125 crore to Rs 150 crore of inventory from distributors over the next three quarters. With about 20 days of inventory in general products currently held by distributors, Godrej believes it can operate within 10 days. The sudden inventory correction will exert pressure on India profit growth, but the company remains committed to its FY27 guidance. Malbari acknowledged the company's struggles in executing growth bets, particularly in fragrances and deodorants, which he attributes to a failure to convert strategy into action. Despite these challenges, GCPL plans to double down on its Vision 2040-style portfolio expansion and aims for core categories to return to industry-level growth and newer businesses to eventually push overall growth into double digits.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}